A Clash of Kings

This article is about the George R. R. Martin novel. For the video game, seeClash of Kings.For other uses, seeA Clash of Kings (disambiguation).

A Clash of Kings

US hardcover (first edition)
Author	George R. R. Martin
Audio read by	Roy Dotrice
Cover artist	Steve Youll
Language	English
Series	A Song of Ice and Fire
Genre	Epic fantasy,Political novel
Published	November 16, 1998(1998-11-16)(Voyager Books/UK) February 2, 1999(1999-02-02)(Bantam Spectra/US)
Publication place	United States
Pages	761
Award	Locus Award for Best Fantasy Novel(1999)
ISBN	0-00-224585-X(UK Hardback) ISBN0-553-10803-4(US hardback)
OCLC	59667381
Dewey Decimal	813/.54
LC Class	PS3563.A7239 C58 1999
Preceded by	A Game of Thrones
Followed by	A Storm of Swords

A Clash of Kingsis the second of seven planned novels inA Song of Ice and Fireby American authorGeorge R. R. Martin,anepic fantasyseries. It was first published in the United Kingdom on November 16, 1998; the first United States edition followed on February 2, 1999.Like its predecessor,A Game of Thrones,it won theLocus Award(in 1999) for Best Novel and was nominated for theNebula Award(also in 1999) for Best Novel. In May 2005,Meisha Merlinreleased a limited edition of the novel, fully illustrated byJohn Howe.

The novel has been adapted for television as thesecond seasonof theHBOseriesGame of Thrones.

A Clash of Kingsis also the name of the first expansion to theGame of Thronesboard game.

Plot

A Clash of Kingsdepicts the Seven Kingdoms ofWesterosincivil war,while theNight's Watchmounts a reconnaissance to investigate the mysterious people known aswildlings.Meanwhile,Daenerys Targaryencontinues her plan to conquer the Seven Kingdoms.

In the Seven Kingdoms

With KingRobert Baratheondead, his purported sonJoffreysits on the Iron Throne. His reign is far from stable, as both of Robert's brothers,RenlyandStannis,have claimed the throne as well. Two regions attempt to secede from the realm:Robb Starkis declared "King in theNorth"whileBalon Greyjoydeclares himself king of theIron Islands.The war among these contenders is dubbed the War of the Five Kings.

Stannis Baratheon,publicizing the claim that Joffrey and his siblings are bastards, claims the throne as Robert's eldest brother and therefore heir. He is supported byMelisandre,a foreign priestess who believes Stannis a prophesied messianic figure. Renly is supported by the wealthy Lord Mace Tyrell, and has married Mace's daughterMargaery.Robb's motherCatelyn Starkmeets with Renly and Stannis to discuss an alliance against Joffrey's family, the Lannisters, but she is unable to reach an agreement with them. Melisandre uses magic to send a shadow to assassinate Renly in the middle of the night, and Stannis besieges Storm’s End, Renly’s castle; after witnessing Renly's death, Catelyn and Renly's bodyguard,Brienne of Tarth,flee the scene.

Tyrion Lannister,Joffrey's uncle, arrives at the capital city ofKing's Landingas acting Hand of the King, the senior adviser to Joffrey's reign. Tyrion improves the defenses of the city while jockeying for power against Joffrey's mother, the Queen RegentCersei.Learning of Renly's death, Tyrion sends the crown's treasurerPetyr “Littlefinger” Baelishto win the Tyrells' support for Joffrey. Catelyn's daughterSansa,a hostage of the Lannisters, is regularly abused by Joffrey. Riots break out in the city due to Joffrey's cruelty and food shortages caused by the ongoing war.

Robb wins several victories against the Lannisters while his younger brotherBranrules the Northern stronghold ofWinterfellin his absence. Against Catelyn's advice, Robb sends his friendTheon Greyjoy,Balon Greyjoy's son, to negotiate an alliance between the North and the Iron Islands. Theon betrays Robb and attacks Winterfell, taking the castle and capturing Bran and his younger brotherRickon.When Bran and Rickon escape, Theon fakes their deaths. Stark supporters besiege the castle, including a force from the Starks' sometime ally House Bolton. However, the Bolton soldiers turn against the Stark and Greyjoy forces alike, burn Winterfell, slaughter its inhabitants, and take Theon prisoner.

Catelyn's daughterAryais taken north posing as a new recruit for the Night's Watch. The recruits are attacked by Lannister forces, and the survivors are taken to the gigantic castle of Harrenhal, which is controlled by Joffrey's grandfatherTywin Lannister.For saving his life during the attack, a mysterious man named Jaqen H'ghar promises to repay Arya by killing three men of her choice. Arya leverages this offer to help Northern forces retake control of Harrenhal. Jaqen gives Arya a mysterious iron coin and tells her to find him in the foreign city of Braavos if she should ever desire to learn his secrets. Arya soon escapes the castle.

Stannis's army launches anamphibious assaulton King's Landing in a battle on Blackwater Bay. Under Tyrion's command, the Lannister forces use "wildfire" (a substance similar toGreek fire) to ignite the bay, and raisea massive chainacross its mouth to prevent Stannis' fleet from retreating. When Stannis's troops storm the gates, it falls to Tyrion to lead the Lannister troops into battle. Stannis's victory seems to be assured, until Tywin Lannister arrives with his army and the Tyrell forces, defeating Stannis. During the battle, Tyrion is attacked and injured by a knight of Joffrey's Kingsguard; by the time Tyrion regains consciousness after the battle, Tywin has assumed the post of Hand of the King.

Beyond the Wall

A scouting party from the Night's Watch learns that the wildlings are uniting under "King-beyond-the-Wall"Mance Rayder.The Lord Commander of the Watch,Jeor Mormont,assignsJon Snowto a group sent to investigate Mance's aims, led by Qhorin Halfhand. Hunted by wildling warriors and facing certain defeat, Halfhand commands Jon to infiltrate the wildlings and learn their plans. To win the wildlings' trust, Jon is forced to kill Qhorin. He learns that Mance Rayder is advancing towards the Wall that separates the wildlings from the Seven Kingdoms with an army of thirty thousand wildlings, giants, andmammoths.

Across the Narrow Sea

Daenerys Targaryen travels south, accompanied by the knightJorah Mormont,her remaining followers, and three newly hatcheddragons.At the city ofQarth,Daenerys's dragons make her notorious. Xaro Xhoan Daxos, a prominent trader in Qarth, initially befriends her; but Daenerys cannot secure aid because she refuses to give away any of her dragons. As a last resort, Daenerys seeks counsel from thewarlocksof Qarth, who show Daenerys many confusing visions and threaten her life, whereupon one of Daenerys' dragons burns down the warlocks' House of the Undying. An attempt to assassinate Daenerys is thwarted by a warrior named Strong Belwas and his squire Arstan Whitebeard: agents of Daenerys' allyIllyrio Mopatis,who have come to escort her back toPentos.

Characters

The tale is told through the eyes of 9 recurring POV characters plus one prologue POV character:

• Prologue: Maester Cressen, maester at Dragonstone.
• Tyrion Lannister,youngest son of LordTywin Lannister,a dwarf and a brother toQueen Cersei,and the acting Hand of the King to Joffrey Baratheon.
• LadyCatelyn Stark,of House Tully, widow ofEddard Stark,Lord of Winterfell.
• SerDavos Seaworth,a smuggler turned knight in the service of King Stannis Baratheon, often called the Onion Knight.
• Sansa Stark,eldest daughter of Eddard Stark and Catelyn Stark, held captive by King Joffrey in King's Landing.
• Arya Stark,youngest daughter of Eddard Stark and Catelyn Stark, missing and presumed dead.
• Bran Stark,second son of Eddard Stark and Catelyn Stark, ruling in Winterfell in his elder brother’s absence.
• Jon Snow,bastard son of Eddard Stark, and a man of the Night's Watch.
• Theon Greyjoy,heir to the Seastone Chair and former ward of Lord Eddard Stark.
• QueenDaenerys Targaryen,the Unburnt and Mother of Dragons, of theTargaryendynasty.

Editions

Foreign language editions

• Albanian: Two volumes: "Përplasje Mbretërish I/II" ( "Clash of kings I/II" )
• Arabic: "اغنية الثلج والنار: صراع الملوك" ( "A Song of Ice and Fire: Clash of kings" )
• Bulgarian: Бард: "Сблъсък на Крале"
• Catalan: Alfaguara: "Xoc de reis" ( "Clash of kings" )
• Croatian: Algoritam: "Sraz kraljeva"
• Chinese: "Liệt vương phân tranh", Trùng Khánh nhà xuất bản (2006) ( "Conflict of Kings" ).
• Czech: Talpress: "Střet králů" ( "Clash of Kings" )
• Danish: Gyldendal: "Kongernes Kamp" ( "The Battle of Kings" )
• Dutch: One volume, Luithing Fantasy (1999): hardcover:De Strijd der Koningen( "The Clash of Kings" )
• Estonian: Two volumes, hardcover: Varrak (2008, 2009), "Kuningate heitlus I & II" ( "A Clash of Kings" )
• Finnish: Kirjava: "Kuninkaiden koitos"
• French: Three volumes (Hardcover: Pygmalion (2000); paperback: J'ai Lu (2002)): "La bataille des rois", "L'ombre maléfique", "L'invincible forteresse" ( "The battle of kings", "The maleficent shadow", "The impregnable fortress" ).
• German: Single volume, Fantasy Productions (2004): "Königsfehde" ( "King's Feud" ). Two volumes,Blanvalet(2000): "Der Thron der Sieben Königreiche", "Die Saat des goldenen Löwen" ( "The Throne of the Seven Kingdoms", "The Seed of the Golden Lion" ).
• Georgian: Paperback, Arete (2014): "მეფეთა ჯახი" I/II ( "Clash of Kings" I/II)
• Greek: Anubis: "Σύγκρουση Βασιλέων" ( "Clash of Kings" )
• Hebrew: "I/II עימות המלכים" ( "Clash of Kings" )
• Hungarian: Alexandra Könyvkiadó: "Királyok csatája" ( "Battle of Kings" )
• Icelandic: UGL: "Konungar kljást" ( "Kings Clash" )
• Indonesian: Fantasious: "Peperangan Raja-Raja" ( "Wars of Kings" )
• Italian: Two volumes, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore (2001, 2002): "Il regno dei lupi", "La regina dei draghi" ( "The Kingdom of Wolves", "The Queen of Dragons" ).
• Japanese: Two volumes, hardcover: Hayakawa (2004), paperback: Hayakawa (2007): "Vương lang たち の chiến kỳ" ( "Banner of the Wolf Kings" )
• Korean: Eun Haeng Namu Publishing Co.: "왕들의 전쟁" ( "War of Kings" )
• Latvian: Whitebook: "Karaļu cīņa" ( "War of Kings" )
• Lithuanian: Alma Littera "Karalių kova" ( "A Battle of Kings" )
• Norwegian: Two volumes (2012) 'Bok II Del I: Kongenes kamp' (Book II Part I: The Battle of Kings) and 'Bok II Del II: Dragenes dronning' (Book II Part II: The Queen of Dragons)
• Polish: Zysk i s-ka: "Starcie królów"
• Brazilian Portuguese: Leya: "A Fúria dos Reis" ( "Wrath of the Kings" )
• European Portuguese: Two Volumes, Saída de Emergência: "A Fúria dos Reis", "O Despertar da Magia"
• Romanian: Nemira: "Încleștarea regilor"
• Russian: Single volume, AST (2004, 2005, 2006): "Битва королей" ( "The Battle of Kings" ). Two volumes, AST (2000): "Битва королей. Книга 1", "Битва королей. Книга 2" ( "The Battle of Kings: Book 1", "The Battle of Kings: Book 2).
• Serbian: Лагуна: "Судар краљева"
• Slovakia: Tatran: "Súboj kráľov"( "Clash of kings" )
• Slovenian: "Spopad kraljev" ( "Clash of Kings" )
• Spanish: Gigamesh (2003): "Choque de reyes" ( "Clash of Kings" ).
• Swedish: Forum bokförlag: "Kungarnas krig" ( "War of the Kings" )
• Turkish: Two volumes, Epsilon Yayınevi: "Buz ve Ateşin Şarkısı II: Kralların Çarpışması - Kısım I & Kralların Çarpışması - Kısım II" ( "A Clash of Kings" )
• Ukrainian: One volume, KM Publishing (2014): "Битва Королів" ( "A Clash of Kings" )
• Vietnamese: Two volumes: "Trò Chơi Vương Quyền 2A: Hậu Duệ Của Sư Tử Vàng", "Trò Chơi Vương Quyền 2B: Bảy Phụ Quốc". ( "Game of Thrones 2A: Descendants of the Golden Lion", "Game of Thrones 2B: Seven Kingdoms" )

Television adaptation

A Clash of Kingshas been adapted for television by HBO asthe second seasonof its successful adaptation ofA Song of Ice and Fire.Filming began July 2011, and thefirst episode of season 2ofGame of Thronesaired on April 1, 2012.

Reception

As with its predecessor,A Clash of Kingswas positively received by critics. Dorman Shindler ofThe Dallas Morning Newsdescribed it as "one of the best [works] in this particular subgenre", praising "the richness of this invented world and its cultures... [that] lends Mr. Martin's novels the feeling of medieval history rather than fiction."Writing inThe San Diego Union-Tribune,Jim Hopper calledA Clash of Kings"High Fantasy with a vengeance" and commented: "I'll admit to staying up too late one night last week to finish off this big book, and I hope it's not too terribly long until the next one comes out."Danielle Pilon wrote in theWinnipeg Free Pressthat the book "shows no signs of the usual 'middle book' aimlessness". Although she found the constantly switching viewpoints "momentarily confusing", she felt that it "draws the reader deep into the labyrinthine political and military intrigues and evokes sympathy for characters on all sides of the conflict."Bradley H. Sinor of theTulsa Worldpraised Martin for "keep[ing] readers balanced on a sword's edge" and managing to do "three important things" withA Clash of Kings:"It grips the reader whether or not they read the earlier book, tells a satisfying story and leaves the reader wanting the next book as soon as possible."The Oregonian's Steve Perry called the book "easily as good as the first novel" and commented that theSong of Ice and Firebooks were "so complex, fascinating and well-rendered that readers will almost certainly be hooked into the whole series." However, he cautioned that "if it were a movie, it would be rated" R "for sex and violence, so don't pick the book up for your 10-year-old nephew who likes Conan."

Awards and nominations

• Locus Award– Best Novel (Fantasy) (Won) – (1999)
• Nebula Award– Best Novel (Nominated) – (1999)
• Ignotus Award – Best Novel (Foreign) (Won) – (2004)

External links

• A Clash of Kingstitle listing at theInternet Speculative Fiction Database
• A Clash of Kingsat the Internet Book List